JONATHAN KELLERMAN. THE CLINIC

Midnight murder. Hope had been stabbed just after 11:00 P.M.

I flipped a page.

The wound pattern, described almost word-for-word as in Hope’s file.

The initial blow to the heart had collapsed the organ, death resulting from exsanguination and shock. Prior to that, Mandy Wright’s cardiovascular system had been in excellent condition, the arteries clear and unobstructed. No venereal disease, including HIV. No evidence of any outstanding illness or infection other than minor nasal erosion probably due to cocaine abuse.

The final paragraph cited significant expansion of the anal opening and fibroid scarring of the rectum indicating a history of anal sex, but vaginal sexual intercourse had not taken place within the past twenty-four hours. Postmortem examination of the pelvic region revealed no tumors or other pathology; however, changes related to past pregnancy were noted.

That made me think. As did the last line:

“The fallopian tubes have been ligated; from the degree of atrophy, probably within a year or two.”

“Sterilized? Any record of her having a child?”

Milo shook his head.

“And she’d been pregnant before,” I said. “Meaning an abortion—unless she miscarried. Either before the ligation or at the same time. It’s a long shot, but that kind of surgery is Dr. Cruvic’s specialty. What if he was her L.A. connection?”

He put the beer down. “There are lots of obstetricians. That’s some leap.”

“Just throwing out ideas. Should I stop?”

“No, go on.”

“Cruvic has money,” I said. “Drives a Bentley. Those clothes we saw weren’t Kmart. Not inconsistent with the kind of guy who might fly down a party girl and pay for her ticket in cash.”

“First he’s her doctor, now he’s her party pal?”

“He could be both. Maybe that’s why he performed the ligation rather than having a doctor in Vegas do it. Hell, maybe he was even the father of her child—who’d be in a better position to get himself out of a mess than an OB? We’ve got him in at least one fib—not knowing Hope before the fund-raiser. Why try to mislead us? Probably because your hunch was right: Their relationship had been more than friendship. And I’ve got additional support for that.”

I told him what Holly Bondurant had seen in the parking lot, Marge Showalsky’s protest-too-much denials. “Then there’s the matter of his direct billing for Hope’s services. It just doesn’t smell right. Plus, I learned something today that tells me he may skirt other ethical boundaries.”

I repeated my conversation with Mary Farney. “Operating on a mentally deficient minor and knowing she probably couldn’t give informed consent. Maybe he used Hope for backup. Maybe they were involved in other iffy things.”

“Like what?”

“Who knows? Financial shenanigans. Or maybe they did something really ugly, like take eggs out of one fertility patient and sell them to another.”

“So where would Mandy fit in?”

“Wild guess? She could have been an egg donor—young, healthy girl. And she learned something she wasn’t supposed to. Or tried to blackmail Cruvic. Or maybe Cruvic’s just the kind of guy who loves ’em and kills ’em. Hell, I can go on all day but the bottom line is my gut tells me Dr. Cruvic is worth looking into, despite the sex-killer scenario.”

He got up and walked around. “We both noticed how hyper Cruvic was, bouncing all over the place. He tried to tell us it was fitness, but maybe it was coke, and there’s our link with Mandy. Though Hope’s autopsy showed no dope in her system and nothing indicates she ever used. Bringing me full circle: If she was cheating with Cruvic—or Locking, or anyone else—Seacrest could have found out and decided she’d rubbed his face in it long enough.”

“But what connection would Seacrest have to Mandy Wright?”

He paced some more. “It’s not just flashy guys who fool with girlies. A quiet middle-aged professor might want a hot little playmate, too. And a quiet middle-aged professor would have reason to pay cash to the playmate. And if the playmate realized how vulnerable the professor was and decided to blackmail him, the professor could decide to end his problems: heart, vagina, back. And after succeeding at that, why not go after the wife who’s become such a pain in the ass?”

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